Gaua

Gaua
Mount Garat taken from Lake Letas
Waters	Coral sea
Archipelago	Banks Islands
Geographical location	14 ° 16 ′  S , 167 ° 31 ′  E Coordinates: 14 ° 16 ′  S , 167 ° 31 ′  E
length	21 km
width	20 km
surface	328.2 km²
Highest elevation	Mount Garat 797  m
Residents	2491 (2009) 7.6 inhabitants / km²
main place	Jolap
Map of Gaua

Gaua (formerly Santa Maria ) is a volcanic island that belongs to the archipelago of the Banks Islands in the Pacific island state of Vanuatu . It is located near the Santa Maria fault zone . The island has a diameter of 20 km and an area of ​​328.2 km²; the 797 meter high shield volcano is one of the most active volcanoes in the archipelago.

At the top of the volcano is a 6 by 9 kilometer caldera that is 700 meters deep and in which a crater lake called Lake Letas has formed. The largest and most active of the intra-caldera volcanoes in this lake is Mount Garat . It is located in the south-western part of the lake on the shore and extends a little into it.

Since the end of 2009 there have been increasing signs of a major outbreak on Gaua. At times, 3,000 islanders were evacuated. Smaller eruptions produced clouds of ash that rose up to 3 km. Strombolian explosions were also observed.

Villages and languages

Different languages ​​are spoken in the villages on the island, depending on which islands in the area the residents have migrated from.

Gaua or Gog is spoken by 120 people in Lomasarig (Namasarig), Lembot, Nume and Tarasag. The villages south of it, namely Lemanman, Tuvrat and Lambal, are inhabited by immigrants from the densely populated islands of Merig and Mere Lava. In the southern villages of Dorig and Kweteon (Wetamut), Dorig is spoken by 70 people and is related to Koro and Lakona . Koro (closely related to Dorig ) is spoken by around 70 people in the villages of Koro and Mekeon (Biam) further west on the south coast. The less related language Lakona ( Lakon ) is spoken by around 80 people on the west coast in the villages of Kwetegavig, Dulav (Kwetevut) and Ontar.

Web links

Commons : Gaua  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Gaua in the Global Volcanism Program of the Smithsonian Institution (English)

• Map of Gaua, Mérig and Mere Lava (archived)

Individual evidence

1. ^ UNEP Islands
2. ^ Gaua volcano on Vanuatu , accessed June 4, 2010
3. ↑ C. Beaumont, DT Tryon. SA Wurm: PAPERS IN LINGUISTICS OF MELANESIA No.3, 1972